Chapter 17: Another Adventure Complete

The next morning brought a boisterous breakfast with everyone talking and laughing, though Cisco was a bit reserved. Ray and Harrison were given a clean bill of health by Caitlin, and Felicity had a replacement wheelchair delivered for Harrison. She then offered rides home to everyone. Cisco and Harrison took her up on the offer, with Ray riding along since the two were going to fly back to Star City later in the day.

They dropped Cisco off first and Harrison off second. He spent a good part of the drive alternating between grumbling about missing the movie and rather childish glee over his new wheelchair. "You know you didn't have to get me a replacement," Harrison chidded Felicity as they approached his house. "I could have replaced it on my own time."

"Oh please. You were drooling over that wheelchair the last time we visited," Felicity countered, rolling her eyes and smiling.

"I remember that," Ray agreed. "You said something about needing to customize it. You two talked about taking an afternoon together if you got it." At the mention of the friendship the two men had once shared, Cisco and Harrison both fell completely silent. "I said something wrong," Ray observed.

"Ray, Cisco and the others remember a different man than you and I remember," Felicity said.

"The singularity was apparently two timelines merging and for some reason, those people who were in the lab remember a different timeline from everyone else," Harrison said, his voice serious and grim. "Apparently in the other timeline I was murdered and replaced by a man who had murderous intentions towards Barry."

"He pretended to be our friend," Cisco said, looking angry and sullen.

"It has, rather unfortunately, put a bit of a bump in the relationships within the team," Harrison finished.

"This is me," Cisco said, looking out the window as they pulled up in front of the building.

"I'll walk you to your door," Felicity said brightly. She got out and followed the young engineer up to his building. They paused at the front door, Cisco glowering back towards the car where he could see Dr. Wells and Ray talking and laughing. "You okay?" Felicity could sense the disorder in her friend's feelings.

"He killed me, he killed Barry's mother, and he manipulated all of us," Cisco said, glaring. "Yet we just spent the night watching movies and eating Chinese food with him like nothing happened."

"Cisco, I don't remember the world the way you do," Felicity began. "I do remember that Harrison was always there for us. He was always willing to help out and he just helped me get Ray back. I can't hate that man. That said, I will not judge you if you have to take your time getting to know him. He's a good man. Give him a chance." Smiling at him, she then leaned in and gave him a quick peck on on the cheek before turning and heading back to the car waiting for her.

"Yeah, right. Give him a chance to do it all over again," Cisco grumbled, turning and heading into his building.

Back in the car, Harrison fell silent as they headed to his house. He'd tried not to let the way Cisco saw him bother him. In fact, he'd thought they were past that, but the scene in the car had proven him wrong. Felicity and Ray had tried to not make a big deal about it, but they hadn't succeeded. They all knew that what Cisco had said hurt Harrison's feelings. They were a somber group when they dropped Harrison off. Like Cisco, Felicity walked with her friend to the door. She didn't bother to say anything though, instead just kissing him on the cheek and ruffling his hair.

"Have a safe flight back," Harrison said, not even bothering to complain about her messing up his hair. "Tell Oliver if he doesn't treat you right he'll have me to answer to." It made Felicity smile.

"Not sure that's a threat he'll take seriously," Felicity said. "Be safe. Thank you." Harrison nodded and watched her head back to the car. As the car drove off he turned his chair and entered the code for the house. As the doors opened he entered, favouring his injured wrist.

"Greetings Harrison," came the voice of Artemis.

"Hello Artemis. Have a good night?"

"The night was uneventful. Were you injured when Mr. Palmer returned to normal size?" Harrison moved through the house as Artemis spoke.

"A few bumps and bruises. Nothing more. I did, however, get copies of the new specs for the ATOM suit." The pleasure in his voice was obvious. "As soon as I get them downloaded start seeing if it will help with plan B."

"Of course. Will you be informing the others of your plans?"

"No." Harrison stopped in front of his computer, inserting a thumb drive and starting to work. "They don't trust me. Maybe they're right not to trust me. We work alone. I've not given up on the serum, but I'm also not turning my back on plan B. Perhaps we will try both."

"An excellent idea. Will you be engaging in your physical training?"

"No. I need to rest. No point getting everything in place if I'm not physically up to it." Harrison leaned in, studying the blueprints on the computer. "Cisco would love this. At least, he'd love the science and engineering aspect of it. I think he'd be like Caitlin and think I'm going about this wrong though. I can't let them stop me, so we don't tell them."

"Understood." The room fell silent as Harrison made notes and with the help of Artemis worked towards his goals.

That's the end of this story. The subplot I established here and hinted at in Meta-Tests will continue throughout the series (save one or two shipfics I wrote). Thanks for sticking with me and for all your reviews! -CT